Our Sonic Team
by shinyumbreon2
Summary: This summer, my only three friends moved. I thought I was going to go through the year alone, but then I met those five. And junior year was never the same...
1. Story 1: And So It Begins (Part 1)

I was sleeping soundly. At least, I think I was. I mean, you can't watch yourself sleep. But I digress. The digital clock was ticking, and then it hit 6 am all too soon.

"HOLY SHIT!" I yelled as I fell out of bed. My alarm was going off, which happened to be my iPhone playing _I Am All of Me_. For those who haven't listened to it, go do yourselves a favor. Just make sure your jackass cousin doesn't set the volume to 32 so that the song's heavy metal guitar opening doesn't wake you from a dreamless sleep. I picked myself up and groaned, quickly turning the volume to 12 before turning off my alarm. "At least I'm awake," I mumbled. "God, I hate Mondays."

My name is Lexi Cintas, 15 years old. I turn 16 in a month or so, meaning another school year has begun. I hate the end of August because that means summer vacation is coming to an end once more. But the common end something/start something cycle was different this year. Why? I'm going in it alone.

I don't have many friends, mostly by choice. I always say quantity over quality, and the three friends I had since elementary school definitely made up for the lack of quantity. They were Susan, Lily, and Jack, and they were basically family. Of course, we might have been too perfect of friends, because fate decided to be cruel. All three of their families had moved over the summer to different parts of the country, and now I have no one to help me through junior year. Joy.

I looked in the mirror to check my outfit. Dirty blonde hair up in a ponytail? Check. A comfy outfit (today being a navy blue t-shirt with white stripes on the sleeves and jean shorts)? Check. My white skate shoes? Check. Me looking tired and totally not enthusiastic for the day? Absolutely, positively check. I'm not a morning person.

With my bed made, my clothes on, and my backpack checked if it was packed for the fifth time, I turned off the music and went out to eat breakfast, make lunch, and finish getting ready.

It was 6:50 by the time I was finished. School wouldn't start for another 50 minutes. You may think that's overkill but when it's the first day of school, I like to give myself extra time. I was about to walk out the door when my mom cleared her throat. She had gotten downstairs sometime while I was getting ready, and I was too focused on getting ready to notice. "Do I get a goodbye?" she asked with a smile.

I rolled my eyes playfully and gave her a hug. Her name is Nina. She gave me my brown eyes and my tan skin. My blonde hair? From my dad.

...

I'd rather not talk about him.

"I'll see you after school," I told her as we parted.

"Actually, I'll be a little late," she admitted. "I have to pick Chris up from the airport, remember?"

Oh yeah, I had forgotten. Chris Rogers was my stepfather, and he had been on a business trip. He's a really funny guy, and despite my love for my mom, the house felt slightly empty without him. "Of course," I replied. "Well then, I'll see BOTH of you after school, then."

"Love you, Girly," she said. God, I hate that nickname. But every time I say that, people say it more, so I just roll with it.

I rolled my eyes again, this time with slight annoyance. "Love you, too," I told her and went out the door. I unlocked my bike and sped off.

By bike, school was about five or ten minutes. I turned right and entered the parking lot, just avoiding some ditzy girls who were too focused on admiring each other's frilly outfits to hear me when I shouted, "MOVE!" They didn't even notice. And _that's_ why I hate being a girl sometimes. I hate knowing I share my gender with people so brainless. I swerved, just barely going into the street, but luckily I avoided going over the curb. When I was in front of them, I looked back. They were still talking to each other, not even noticing that I had just passed them by. I huffed and sped off towards the bike rack, locked up my bike, and went inside the main building to get my schedule.

"1st period: English 11," I read aloud. "2nd: Physics." I cringed. I already hated science, and I knew Physics was even harder than Chemistry. Not to mention I had Mrs. Newton. She was a 60 year-old bitch who didn't have a heart except towards those who were good at science, and for that was known as the Ice Queen. Once again fate shows it hates my guts. I kept reading. "3rd: U.S History. 4th: Math Analysis/Trigonometry. 5th: Spanish 3. 6th: P.E." I could have not taken P.E this year, but I had. Guess there was some part of me that enjoyed it. Besides Physics, I was pleased with my schedule and made my way to English.

I looked inside the classroom and was a little surprised to see it was halfway full already. You don't understand, my school is full of slackers, and to see a classroom like this at 7:15 in the morning was amazing. The desks were split so there was an isle down the middle and the desks were facing each other in three rows. I took a seat in the middle on the side looking at the door and looked around at the students. There were five that caught my interest for some reason.

Well, actually, they had reasons.

The first one that caught my eye was a boy with blond hair. He had bright blue eyes and wore a yellow shirt, tan shorts that almost went to his knees, and red-and-white sneakers. But it wasn't his clothes or his eyes or his hair that caught my interest. It was the fact that he looked like he was eleven years old, at the most twelve. Maybe he just looks young, though; one of my cousins is twenty but he looks more like a 15 year old. Though that could also be because he acts like one.

Number two was a female with teal eyes and short white hair. Yeah, white hair. I had never seen anyone with that hair color unless they were old. Not to say that it wasn't pretty or that she looked old. Though I do have to say she looked mature. She wore a light pink tank top with heart patterns on it, a black skirt, and white boots. But what amazed me were her breasts. God, they were HUGE. Instinctively I looked down at my own. Not big, not small, and usually I was fine with that. I mean, there were other big breasted girls at this school but...why did hers make me feel...insecure? I heard a giggle. Shit, she noticed I had been inspecting her! Move on, move on!

Third person was another guy. He was a redhead (poor guy, at this school he'll get snickers for sure) that almost went to his shoulders. Interesting. He also had purple eyes. Even more interesting. Though, they could be contacts. He was wearing a red jacket that was open, revealing a grey shirt. He was wearing red shorts that went to his knees. His footwear was a pair of red sneakers. Seems his favorite color was red. Wear it with pride, I guess. He also seemed like he was strong; it was clear in his muscles. The girl I had been studying earlier stood up and walked over to the redhead and started whispering to him. He seemed embarrassed as the blond boy eyed them both. I couldn't hear what was said so I began on the fourth.

Another boy. He had green eyes and brown hair, though I could see evidence of blue dye. He probably had dyed it and then was forced to wash it out. He was wearing a blue tank top and blue sweats that looked like jeans. Never seen that before. He also had red-and-white sneakers, similar to the boy before but inverse. He was also watching the exchange and had a sly smile. Then his eyes met mine and he flashed a cocky one. Now it was my turn to be embarrassed. My eyes darted to the floor and I heard a soft chuckle. Probably thought I was checking him out and wanting to ask him out a date or something. I wasn't going to but I'm not going to lie: he is HOT! I took a breath and went to stretch my back by turning it, holding the desk. And when I did, my eyes found the fifth interesting student.

Dare I say he was even hotter than the last one! He had spiky black hair, but just like the last one had evidence of dye, this time red. He also had ruby red eyes, probably contacts as well but they also looked too beautiful to be fake. He had tan skin that was a little darker than mine, and on that lovely skin he wore a black jacket. I could see a dark grey shirt underneath. He had a red belt and black pants with red stripes. On his feet was a pair of white sneakers with black and red stripes. Another fan of red, I see, but he also loved black. He looked like one of those generic emo kids but I never jump to those conclusions right away. True, the slight frown on his face wasn't helping, but it could just be out of boredom. He suddenly raised an eyebrow. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that hot guy number one was looking at him and me, smiling. Now hot guy number two was looking at me. He stood up. Shit, shit, shit! Go through your bag, act natural! I quickly turned, but maybe too quick. I started falling, only to be suddenly caught by a strong pair of arms. I had closed my eyes, and now they were open, staring at the ground.

"Are you okay?" a deep, husky voice asked. Fuck, it sounds so sexy. I looked up and almost couldn't hold back a squeak. It was the fifth person, that slight frown still on his face but his ruby eyes betrayed him, since they shown with a little concern. Damn it, stop looking like an idiot and say something!

"Y-yeah," I managed. "S-sorry...I...uh..." Man, I was stuttering like an idiot. To him, I probably seemed like some ditzy klutz.

Lover-of-black shook his head. "I'm the one who startled you," he replied.

I blinked. "W-well," I chuckled, trying to regain my composure as I grabbed the desk and lifted myself up, "I was the one who was staring. I didn't mean to."

The brown hair kid chuckled. "Getting yourself a girlfriend, bro?" he asked. My savior turned his head and glared at him. This didn't look like it would end well.

"Excuse me while I take care of my idiot brother," he said to me. He walked over to the other teen and began getting into a struggle with him, hissing something that I couldn't quite catch.

I blinked again. They were brothers? They had somewhat similar traits, like their face and their body, but other than that they seemed as different as night and day. Now that I think about it, I guess that's how siblings are. I should know... "Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" the brown haired boy shouted, but he was smiling. His brother huffed and walked away. He grabbed his backpack and moved it...to the seat next to mine?! I couldn't believe it! I was about as normal as you could get, and here I am now getting attention from a really hot guy!

"Sorry about that." he stated as he sat down.

"N...no worries," I replied, unsure. He raised an eyebrow.

"Something wrong?"

"Wha- no! Nonononono, not at all!" I think I was too desperate.

"Really?"

I sighed. "Well...I mean...I'm just some normal girl who was staring at you. If I were you, I would find that creepy."

He shook his head in amusement. Pardon me for being confused. "I get stares all the time," he told me. "I'm popular."

"Not as popular as me!" his brother exclaimed.

"Didn't I just tell you to butt out!" my neighbor shot back, eyes narrowed. There were more people now, so the two were attracting a few looks. But neither seemed to mind. "Anyway," he continued, attention back on me. "Your stares are definitely the least creepy I've had."

"Is that a compliment?" He nodded, smiling just a tad. Smiles looked good on him, but I had a feeling they were rare. He was about to say more but then the bell rang, and my attention went to the front of the room, where our teacher began speaking.

"Morning, class," he said. "Name's Mr. Camp. Now we'll get to yours." Well that was short and to the point. Not to mention casual. I didn't care about most of the names, except for the five I had taken interest in. "Ruth Batteen."

"Here," the only girl in the group replied. Ruth, huh? That was surprising, though I'm not sure why.

"Alexa Cintas," I heard.

"Lexi, please," I corrected.

Mr. Camp took his pencil and scribbled on the paper. "Duly noted," he stated. He went through a few names. "Kyle Echard."

"Here," Redhead answered. Just as I had predicted, he started getting snickers. He glared at every single one of the mockers, and whatever was in his stare shut them up. Good. For. Him.

Next were the brothers. "Sam Hegwood."

"Yo!" was the cheerful reply.

I could hear his brother curse under his breath for how stupid Sam was being, but Mr. Camp didn't seem to mind the cheerful attitude. "Shawn Hegwood."

"Yes," the darker brother responded.

"Brothers?"

"Twins." Shawn sighed. "Unfortunately."

"Now is that any way to treat your brother?" Sam teased. His twin glared. I had to hold back a giggle.

Our teacher just continued on. "Miles Prowell."

There wasn't a reply for a few moments. "Um...hi," a very meek reply came from the blond.

Mr. Camp looked at his sheet. "Miles, am I right in reading that you are twelve?" he asked. "That isn't a typo, right?"

"No, sir," Miles said sheepishly. "That's no typo. I skipped a few grades."

A silence followed. A **FEW**?! Kid must have been a genius to skip from the grade he was suppose to be in (which was seventh) and go straight to junior year! Now I felt even worse than I had when thinking about Kyle. A twelve-year-old kid was going to be taunted and teased for being a nerd, and I didn't want to think about how that would shatter his self confidence. The only ones who didn't seem surprised were the other four. They were probably all friends and had entered the same school to protect him. At least, that's what I want to believe. Mr. Camp cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "Well then, let's move on."

Attendance taken, syllabus passed out, rules gone over, and a few notes written down. First days were boring. And I had to do this five more times! Well...actually, we can skip a few of those for P.E. "So Shawn, want to introduce us to your friend?" Sam asked at the end of class. The other four had approached us, and I honestly wanted to disappear.

Shawn rolled his eyes. "We already know her names and she knows ours," he replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "I don't know anything else."

"Well that's why you ask!" Sam insisted. Shawn sighed.

"Why not at lunch," I said. "We only get five minutes in between classes today. After fourth we have a thirty minute lunch."

Sam shrugged. "Can we at least see your schedule?" Ruth offered with a smile, holding hers up right next to...look away, you idiot! She giggled again. Damn it, I fell for a trap.

"S-sure," I mumbled, feeling stupid. Not engaging in eye contact I swapped hers and my schedules. I looked. We had the same math class. "Looks like you and I get to spend math together," I reported.

"This is going to be fun! I already know someone!" I felt my face heat up. She does this to everyone, doesn't she?

Miles looked at it next. "Hey, we have Physics together," he said.

Me and the genius? In the same class? Without really thinking I picked him up and hugged him. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I exclaimed.

"Not good in science?" he asked. I shook my head furiously. He laughed quietly. "Okay, I'll help. If you let me down, please."

"Oh, sorry," I said. I set him down. "I got too excited." He laughed, louder this time.

Kyle studied my paper. "History," he stated. "You and I have history." I nodded. Guess he didn't talk much.

No one had Spanish with me, and to that I pouted. I would know no one and I was slightly struggling with my language classes. Shawn could see it in my face. "If you ever need it, I can help," he told me. "I happen to be a good tutor, and I'm pretty fluent in Spanish."

I was about to hug him as I had Miles, but then Sam slugged his arm around his brother's shoulder. "You? Offer that? Didn't know you were the social type." He smiled.

Shawn growled. These brothers clearly didn't get along all that well. "The only reason I am tolerating you in my P.E class is because I can kick your ass and because Lexi is there to keep me sane," he grumbled.

That was right, the three of us did have P.E together. This would be interesting. They both had the body of runners. They were so going to be disappointed in me. I can't run to save my life. "Enough socializing, Miles and I gotta go before Ice Queen freezes us over for being late," I said.

"Ice...Queen?" Miles repeated nervously.

"Let me explain..." And so I did as we walked to our class. "With you being the genius you are, you should have no problems with her," I reassured.

"But that's not fair to you," he replied.

"See why I'm really, REALLY glad you're here?" He smiled.

I was so glad Mrs. Newton didn't assign seats. Had she did, I wouldn't be sitting next to Miles, I guarantee. Once again the procedures in English applied here, as they did in History next period. Math was pretty much the same, and finally lunch rolled around. Ruth and I found her friends, and I was bombarded with questions. Made sense; I was new to their already established group. "Glad you can join," Ruth said.

"So am I," I told her. "I would have been alone otherwise." Shawn's ears perked up. He was sitting a little ways away. Definitely a loner. "Uh, not by choice," I explained quickly. "All of my friends moved this summer."

Sam whistled. "Must have had a small group of friends." Shawn was quick to whack him upside the head.

"Shawn, it's fine," I said. "He's right. I believe in quality, and they were really good quality."

"So, what was the number?" Sam asked. Shawn raised his hand again.

"It's fine!" I exclaimed quickly. "I really don't mind. I only had three, but with them it felt like twenty. We've been friends since we were kids."

All eyes were on me. It seemed they couldn't believe it, even Shawn. And he was the one who changed the subject. "What are your interests?" he asked.

I scratched the back of my head. "Um...well...it's kind of...nerdy."

Kyle laughed. It was the first time I had seen him smile all day; he usually had a serious face. "You realize who we're friends with, right?" he joked, slugging his arm over Miles' shoulder and pulling him close.

"H-hey!" Miles exclaimed, but he smiled. Guess it didn't hurt him when his friends were poking fun at his smarts.

I couldn't help but giggle. "Okay. Well, I really like video games." A smile of happiness crept onto all of their faces. Wow, I couldn't believe it. Two hot guys, one hot girl, a genius, and a fighter all seemed to like video games. Wonder how they would take my next statement. "My favorite franchises are Pokémon and Sonic."

Their eyes gleamed. Even Shawn's. "R-really?" Miles asked, excited. I nodded.

"Who's your favorite character?" Ruth asked.

That one was easy. "Shadow," I replied without a second thought.

Suddenly Shawn was by my side, arm around me and smiling and eyes half lidded. "You and I are going to get along just fine," he stated.

"Aw, c'mon, what about Sonic!" Sam complained.

"Too bad, loser," Shawn replied, looking triumphant.

"Well, Sonic is a close second," I admitted. "If Shadow wasn't an anti-hero/rival character, he probably would be my favorite. But I really like anti-heroes and rivals. The fact that Shadow is both just..." I stopped. Did I need to explain more? Not to mention that the bell rang at that moment. All of us got up except for Sam, who looked dumbfounded. Shawn had taken his arm off me, but he still walked beside me, so it didn't surprise me when Sam tried to jump in between us.

"But Sonic is 20% cooler than Shadow will ever be!" he protested. "That faker never has any fun."

"First off, Sonic's the faker, not the other way around," Shawn told me, ignoring Sam. "Second..." Now he was eyeing his brother. "He's much more annoying. At least Shadow takes things seriously."

"I-" Suddenly a hand flew and covered Sam's mouth. I stopped and looked at the Hegwoods. What was going on? Sam growled from under Shawn's hand and his brother removed it. "I was going to say before rudely interrupted that I think you're wrong!" Sam exclaimed.

I continued walking. Somehow I felt like Sam was lying, like he was actually going to say something else. But what? That was the mystery.


	2. Story 1: And So It Begins (Part 2)

After Spanish, I met up with the brothers once more in front of the gym. We went into our respective locker rooms, changed, and met up again on the football field with everyone else. Our teacher, Blackwell, was taking attendance and telling us the rules. After that, he asked us to pair up. Wanting to force the brothers together as a little joke, I quickly paired with a random girl who was all on her own. Everyone else in the class had a friend to pair up with, so Shawn was given no choice. He glared at me, knowing I had done this on purpose. I smiled innocently. "Now," Blackwell said, quieting the class down. "You and your partner are going to race. If you think you're fast enough, you two can do long distance. If not, a sprint will work just as fine."

At the words "race" and "long distance", the Hegwood brothers perked up and Shawn didn't look as angry. In fact, both of them looked excited, determined, and cocky. "Long distance!" they both exclaimed. It was weird to see Shawn act like a child.

Blackwell was surprised as well. "Volunteers, eh? Haven't had one of those before." He inspected the boys. "You two are runners?" Nod. "And if I remember, you're brothers?" Another nod. "This should be interesting."

The boys went to the starting line, each with a cocky grin that read, "I'm totally gonna kick your ass". I honestly didn't know who to root for. If I should be rooting at all. They had to run a mile, and God only knows if I could ever manage that without feeling like I'm going to pass out starting the third lap. And they were racing? True, they looked like runners, but still... The shout of Blackwell telling them to begin rang through the air, and immediately the boys took off. It was amazing. If I was rooting for someone, I didn't have the voice to do so. It left the moment they began. Watching them, I was wondering if I was actually watching Olympic runners instead of high schoolers. The class must have agreed with me, because no one said a word. Even Blackwell was stunned. They completed the first lap in under a minute, 50 seconds to be exact, and still going strong! I needed to be pinched. No, scratch that, PUNCHED! This dream deserves more than a simple small pain to the arm.

They kept going, under three minutes now and starting the fourth lap. They had been neck and neck, one sometimes falling behind the other but not for long. Just looking at them I could tell they were struggling to not engage in physical contact. If my mouth wasn't already open, it sure was now. Do they _fight_ while they run? How is that even possible? Actually, I would have kind of liked to see them fight, just to see if they could still go somewhere around four minutes. They were going on the final stretch, but rather than looking ahead, they were eyeing each other. It was as if their feet had a mind of their own so their masters could do other things as they sped along. The finish line was drawing near, and Sam looked like he would win.

Did I mention something about Shawn having strong arms?

He has strong legs, too.

With one big push he was able to beat Sam by just a nose, making the more carefree brother grumble and pout a bit while his darker, more serious brother gave him another triumphant look. They seemed to not care that the rest of us were in such a shock of the race just being barely under four minutes that we didn't clap or anything. Actually, I think they took it as a compliment. And the strangest thing of all, they looked like they could keep going! Forget Olympic runners, these guys were in their own category! When Blackwell finally snapped out of his own trance, he called another group.

How could you top a performance like that?

Group after group went, and none of them got the same reaction Sam and Shawn got. Everyone would come back to whoops and hollers and "Did...did you see...me...TOTALLY...kick his...ass?" and "Shut...shut up" as comebacks. It seemed...less satisfying. No one was left in a state of total awe. And that of course made butterflies jump in my stomach. I sprint, but even then I'm not that fast.

I'm gonna be such a disappointment they'll be laughing at me for being a snail.

Finally, my partner (Sarah) and I were called. "Um..." she began in a quiet voice, almost a whisper. Poor girl seemed even more nervous than I was. "C-can we d-do a sp-sp-sprint?"

"Read my mind," I whispered back, sounding more confident. But that was only because I was trying to hide my own nervousness.

"Are you girls sprinting?" we were asked. Nod. "Okay then. Begin!"

We ran. Seems Sarah is the same as me, not a good runner but a better sprinter yet still not good. We really pushed, if not to beat the other then to beat ourselves. I vaguely heard Sam cheer me on, but I believed it to be my imagination. I knew he was a nice guy, cocky and upbeat to the point of some slight annoyance sure, but nice. How I could think he was mocking me I don't understand. And I stopped thinking about it, because at that moment my mind was thrown to another thought entirely.

Sarah must have some how gotten too close. Neither of us had noticed, and we ended up bumping each other's legs and tumbling over each other. Guys, have you ever fallen on a rubber track and skinned yourself? It hurts. Like hell. I hissed through clenched teeth and curled up to distract the pain, and from my only slightly open eyes I could see Sarah doing the same. Both of us were trying to hold back tears, and I could hear two things in the distance. One was laughter with Blackwell yelling at everyone not to do so. I'm not surprised. The second thing was footsteps. Sam and Shawn, no doubt. I felt Shawn's strong arms wrap around my shoulders and my back as he lifted my torso off the ground. "Hey, are you all right?" he asked.

I nodded, my teeth still clenched. God was it hard not to break into tears. I slowly turned my head towards Sam, who was doing the same for Sarah. But my partner was weaker, and just a few seconds later began to cry. I could hear Sam trying to assure her that she would be okay and gently lifted her up so she could stand, arms around one arm and her shoulders still. I looked at Shawn and gave him a look to help me up as well. He did and brought me to my feet. The laughter hadn't died down, and judging from Shawn's grip tightening he was taking this worse than me. "Shawn...you okay there, buddy?" Sam asked.

"Hold on to Lexi for me, will you?" he requested, not skipping a beat. "I have some jokers to take care of." I hoped that didn't mean physically, but seeing that Sam took me and let me use him as support for my shaking legs filled me with some relief that my fear wouldn't come to light. With one last look at the three of us Shawn turned and began walking slowly towards the rest of the class. Just the sight of him _walking_ was enough to send shivers down my spine. I could only imagine what his gaze was like.

Luckily, I had the class's reactions to tell what I couldn't see.

They had slowly died down as Shawn walked closer, and then they stopped completely. Then they started to tremble. I don't even think Shawn had spoken a word. And then he stopped about a foot in front of the first line of teens. Arms were folded across his chest, and only the trembling students knew exactly what his stare looked like. As if by magic, I watched as the students shrunk under his gaze while Shawn seemed to get bigger.

"Remind me not to piss him off," I muttered to Sam, the pain ebbing away so that I can stop clenching my teeth.

"I remember the first time he did that to me," Sam replied. "Not fun." Sarah stopped crying, but she was sniffling, the evidence of her tears still there.

"He...he didn't have to go...this far..." she said quietly.

Sam chuckled. "You're right," he agreed. "But he can be a big old teddy bear sometimes, and when people prey on the innocent and disadvantaged, Shawn makes sure they don't go unpunished."

In a way I was surprised but at the same time not. A few more moments passed and the students seemed to understand. And not a single word was uttered. This guy must be powerful. I don't even want to think of what would have happened had he actually gone for violence. Blackwell took control again and told us all to go back to the locker rooms. Before Sarah and I went, though, he cleaned our skinned knees and elbows and gave us Band-Aids to put on. The four of us retreated to the locker rooms, and to make sure no one gave lip to Sarah, I stayed by her side. I usually don't engage in smack talk, but if I have to I will. Luckily, everyone pretty much avoided us, probably fearing Shawn would somehow know and give them the treatment again. I had seen a few girls eye him, and clearly they didn't want to make their chances of scoring fade away.

The bell rang. School was over. Alone I walked to my bike, and when I finished unlocking it I almost hopped on when Sam and his friends ran up to me. "Hey, you're not thinking of leaving us in the dust, are you?" he asked with that cocky grin once more. I smiled.

"You could probably keep up," I replied, but I got off my bike and proceeded to push it anyway.

Sam laughed and Shawn chuckled. "Yeah, but what about them?" the darker brother pointed out, jerking a thumb towards his friends.

"Sorry, darling, but we aren't like these wackos," Ruth stated.

"Right," was all I could say.

We walked home together. Turns out we were all on the same street. In fact, they lived across and three doors down from mine. I invited them over, and they quickly agreed. I locked up my bike and unlocked the door to let them inside. Sam whistled. "Love the Spanish flare," he stated.

"My mom's from Mexico," I explained, letting that Spanish heritage slip and pronounced the country the right way. Despite that fact, Mom had moved to the U.S when she was young, so she grew up learning mostly English, and I only knew the most basic phrases. That was reason I was placed in Spanish classes. Fair enough.

"What about your dad?" Miles inquired.

"Same," I told him. "But this is actually my stepdad's house. He let Mom decorate a little."

"Where's your dad?" Kyle asked.

I put my hands in my pocket and walked up the stairs. "I don't want to talk about it," was my reply. I heard Ruth slap him and Kyle hissing a "What was that for?" then immediately following up with a gaze at me and a meaningful sorry. "You didn't know," I said. "Maybe later." My new friends followed me, and I opened the door to my room. I saw Shawn's eyes find my bookshelf, which is more of a gaming shelf if you ask me.

"Quiet the collection," he remarked.

"Every system you can think of past the Atari has at least one game," I told him.

"So...Genesis?" Sam asked. Nod.

"Xbox?" Miles guessed. Nod.

"PS3?" Ruth went for. Nod.

"N64?" Kyle wondered. Nod.

"Dreamcast and GameCube," Shawn noted. I saw him eyeing one game, and I knew what he was thinking.

"You think I wouldn't have those consoles?" I joked. "SA2 Battle is my favorite Sonic game, and I've gotta play it somehow."

Sam's eyes lit up. "Let's play it!" he exclaimed.

Shawn shook his head. "After homework," I said, saying what Shawn (and probably Miles) was thinking. "My mom would kill me if I played a video game before I finished."

Expectedly, Sam groaned. "_Fine_," he replied in an annoyed tone.

Luckily, when it's the first day of the year and you have six people together, one or two (did I forget to mention Shawn is also really smart, just not as smart as Miles) being a genius, you get done with homework fast. 30 minutes and we were done. I was surprised. I have never finished homework that fast before. But honestly, what did I expect? These guys have been surprising me all day.

Truthfully, I was thinking that they must have been sent down from somewhere. They were beyond exactly what I needed. Someone to help me in science, someone to guide me in Spanish, someone to help me when I was in need, and all of this only a few weeks after I had been left with no friends.

Maybe fate doesn't hate me as much as I thought.

When we were done, we packed up our things. Sam's eyes were sparkling. No words were needed. I first had to get my GameCube out of the closet since my PS1 was plugged in at the moment. We _could_ have used the Wii, but where's the fun in that? I fumbled with the cords and then put the other system into the closet. Shawn already had the game and was putting it into the current system, along with two controllers. We were going multiplayer mode.

After watching the opening, we quickly went to the two player (of course, everyone saw my menu was Shadow themed, and Shawn gave his third triumphant look of the day). Sam, since he had suggested this, went first, and of course Shawn was his opponent. They were going for the races, what a shocker. Even more of a shocker was that Sam chose the blue blur and Shawn chose the hero's dark counterpart.

I hope you caught the sarcasm.

We agreed to five games for the races and three for the treasure hunts and shooter battles since those took longer. And so it began. The five races were City Escape (who doesn't love City Escape? Raise your hands, all two of you), Metal Harbor, Radical Highway, White Jungle, and the heart pounding music and stage that was Green Forest. Once again the boys were even, but to make up for his real life loss Sam ended up winning three-to-two. "Hey guy, take care," he said Ryan Drummond style as he knocked Shawn off the stage.

"Mother-" Shawn held his tongue, probably because of Miles, and groaned as he was sent to the last checkpoint. By that time it was too late.

"HA! In your FACE!" Sam shouted in victory. Shawn grunted and grinded his teeth.

Next was Kyle and Ruth. Miles and I didn't mind. We also didn't mind that we got the shooting battles. "Watch as I, Ruth, take the gems that rightfully belong to me!" my only female friend proclaimed.

...I hadn't noticed, but it really is a sausage fest in here, isn't it?

"We'll see about that," Kyle grumbled. He chose Knuckles and Ruth chose Rouge (stop and call the press, ladies and gents). The three stages this time were Pumpkin Hill (love the rap that it plays), Dry Lagoon, and Security Hall. Ruth and I groaned. "Be grateful there's no five minute time limit," Shawn stated.

"And no lives are on the lines," us females replied.

Ruth won overall, only losing at Dry Lagoon, which she didn't take too well, saying that was her home turf. I was slightly confused by that comment, but I guessed maybe it meant she almost always wins there. I mean, I practically call Rainbow Road from Mario Kart Wii my home turf since I always won there and knew what I was doing, unlike everyone else.

Now Miles and I were up. The boy chose Tails. I scrolled over to the Dark Chao. "W-wait," Miles stated. "Could you play as Eggman?"

"Don't wanna," I replied.

"But I...I can't hurt a Chao."

"Cool. Then I guess I'll win with no resistance."

That seemed to put a spark in Miles. "Fine!" he shouted. To be honest I jumped a little. I definitely hadn't expected that out of him. "We'll see who wins." We chose Mission Street, Hidden Base, and Weapons Bed.

Weapons Bed.

That's where my new friends became even more interesting than they already had.

We got to the last battle, and Miles begged and pleaded for me to be Eggman. I caved in. I couldn't understand what was so important about me being Eggman, but I seriously didn't care. I selected the evil doctor and we chose the stage. It was kind of like we were recreating the first battle between the two mech characters. Miles and I were tied, so whoever won this fight won the whole thing, and Miles was strangely more intense than before. I didn't get it. We fought, and it was pretty even, but then Miles turned the tables on me. Stupid super move. I lost, groaning.

That was when "Miles" let it slip.

"HA! Take THAT, Eggman!" he shouted, forgetting I was his opponent and that Eggman was just a character. He acted as if...as if the doctor was real. "Now do you see whose weapons are better? MINE, not yours!"

The room seemed to stop. His...his weapons? As in...he had created them? But Tails was the...I stood up slowly, eyes wide. "N-no," I said. "That...that's impossible." Apparently, "Miles" realized what he had said, and was now looking at me with wide eyes of his own. The others were looking at me too, copying our shocked expressions. "Impossible," I repeated. Yet as I repeated the day, it all made sense.

Miles was the character's real name, and his last name also started with a "P", not to mention it was very close to the fictional name. He had blond hair, the closest thing to yellow. Yellow fur. He had blue eyes and red-and-white sneakers. And he was a twelve-year-old genius, especially when it came to science. The fox was his favorite character, and Eggman, the character he begged and pleaded for me to play, was his rival. "Miles" had to be Tails.

Ruth sounded pretty close to the bat's name, and her last name starting with "B" had to be picked out to compliment her species, no doubt. She had white hair. No wonder it seemed weird. Her eye color was the same, as was her fashion colors, not to mention the heart pattern and the flirting and the breasts. She loved jewelry and in the multiplayer was desperate, almost obsessively so, to get the gems first. And Dry Lagoon? No wonder it would be her home turf. "Ruth" was Rouge, no question.

Kyle and the echidna's name? Same as with the female. As with the last name. The red hair, not to mention his hairstyle, and the violet eyes were the same. Red being his favorite color? And the fact that he looked so strong? His love of history, too. I had seen him with his eyes gleaming in class. What about getting embarrassed at being flirted with by his friend, not to mention being somewhat of a rival. "Kyle"? More like Knuckles.

And did I even need to explain the "brothers"? There had been warning signs EVERYWHERE, and I ignored all of them. The dye they had tried to put in their hair (and Shawn's hair color itself), their eye color, their clothing styles and colors, their behavior, their personalities, the fact that Shawn said he would be able to help in Spanish (when you've been translated into multiple languages multiple times, you would be fluent, too) and not to mention the RUNNING! How on EARTH did I not catch it at the RUNNING?! No wonder they had played the role as siblings, either; they could do that in their sleep, without even trying. In fact, they did! All day! They were both the same species, after all. You know who I'm talking about. Do I need to say "Sam" and "Shawn's" real names?

I did anyway.

"S-Sonic?" I asked aloud, beyond disbelief. "Sh-Shadow?" I backed myself to the wall. All five characters were just sitting right here in front of me, in human form, in MY HOUSE. What kind of fan am I to not realize these guys? Okay, that wasn't important, and I'm glad that wasn't the question that tumbled out. "How...how is this even possible? I...must be crazy. Guys...t-tell me I'm crazy! You all just really, _really_ like the characters and you basically think you _are_ them when you get lost in the moment...RIGHT?!"

The friends looked at each other, then back at me. One of them finally broke the silence

"You're not crazy," Shadow replied quietly.

That was it. My legs gave out. I slumped to the floor. "You're lying," I told him, though in the back of my mind, I knew he was too sincere to be doing so.

"No he's not," Rouge reported.

"Then...then how?"

"Whenever someone truly feels alone," Shadow explained, "their favorite characters come to life to comfort them, being from a book or a game or a show, anything goes. They always turn into humans, so you never even know unless informed or, in your case, figure it out through characteristics and..." He looked at Tails. "Accidental slips." Tails looked sheepish. "We had sensed you were lonely in the past, but never as lonely as you have been the past week, and that's when we were sent here."

"Just the five of you?"

"We could have brought one more," Sonic admitted, "but at the same time we didn't want to overwhelm you. Us five are already bad enough as it is, huh?" He smiled. Leave it to Sonic to always lighten the mood.

"But...I didn't _feel_ that lonely."

"Consciously, yes," Knuckles replied. "But not back here." He tapped the back of his head. "Whether you knew it or not, you were crying your heart out. You were scared, sad, lonely; it was a storm of emotions, let me tell you."

I looked at the ground. They could sense my emotions? Did that mean... "Do you know why I felt that way?"

"We only feel your emotions," Tails stated. "We never know the cause. Not unless you tell us."

Weight was taken off my shoulders. It was nice to know I had people...or in this chase animals...to be there for me in my darkest times, but I really didn't want them knowing everything about my life. I took a deep breath. "Okay," I said. I was a bit calmer now, though I stayed where I was. "I think I get it. Sorry I didn't believe you at first."

"I'm surprised you're not still in denial," Shadow said. "I expected you to not accept all of this for a few days."

"It is..." I was looking for the right word. "Strange, I guess." Not the best, but it's something. "But have you _seen_ my game collection over there? I've dealt with slaying gods and colossi, training mythical creatures to fight for me, have had the ability to control elements, and saved the world on thousands of occasions with all sorts of living beings. I have seen everything. True, none of it has been real, but still, I go through crazy stuff."

They all smiled. Then Sonic burst out laughing. "Good to know we got stuck with someone who goes with the flow," he stated. I smiled. Then I noticed Shadow's serious face.

"Listen, Lexi," he began. "Keep using our human names. No one else needs to know who we really are. I'd hate to think of the harassment you'd get."

"Wasn't planning on spilling the beans," I replied.

"Well now that we have that settled," Sonic said, stretching. Then he gave his rival a grin. "How about a hover board race?"

"Faker, this isn't our house," Shadow retorted. I hadn't even known they were video game characters for a full five minutes and Shadow was already using that nickname. "We don't just get to decide what we play."

Sonic groaned. "Lexi, can we?" he asked.

I thought about it. "Well, you've already done that before," I told him. Suddenly an evil grin grew on my face. "How about we throw a party?" The five anthropomorphic-turned-human were understandably confused. So I cleared it up for them.

"A Mario Party."

Yes, Mario Party ruins friendships, and mine with these guys had just started, but I didn't care. I like being a dick sometimes. We booted up the game and soon moans, groans, cheers, and insults filled my room. Mom and Chris came home at some point and opened up my door to see what the hell was going on. Hell, obviously, but they wouldn't understand that joke so I just simply introduced the five, using their human name, of course. Later, we finally finished and they began to walk out. "That was fun," Tails said as we walked to the front door.

"Only because you weren't the one getting screwed over," Knuckles grumbled. "Stupid Chance Time." Rouge laughed.

"Hey," I said to Shadow. He looked at me. "Thanks for telling me. Even if it was unintentional on how it all happened."

"Yeah," he replied.

I smiled. "By the way, I've been meaning to say this." I took a breath. "Narcissist."

The usually calm, collected, had-everything-under-control hedgehog backed up, caught off guard. "N-nar...WHAT?!" Sonic and I laughed.

"We'll get along just fine. Ring any bells, bro?" Sonic teased.

Shadow's face visibly blushed. "I...I was just playing my part," he defended. "And don't get me started on you!"

"Whatever, Shads," was the cocky reply.

"Stop calling me that!"

I laughed. "Guess I'll see you all tomorrow?" I asked. In a way, I was afraid I would wake up and not see them tomorrow. That this had all been a dream. But they all turned and smiled, even Shadow.

"Definitely," they all replied, and they walked over to the house they shared.

Better than trying to find a way to get five houses for kids under 18, I guess.

...

I woke up the next morning, thank God not as abruptly. Sleepily I threw on an outfit and got ready like I normally did. I went out of the house, unlocked my bike, and pedaled off to school.

But this morning was different.

"HEY!" I heard a call from behind, but I didn't need to turn my head to find the owner. He and another individual were already beside me. "Don't go taking off without us!" Sonic stated with a smile.

I smiled back. "What about everyone else?" I asked.

"Life isn't fair," Shadow replied.

That's so Shadow.

We made it to school in record time, once again amazing myself. We waited a few minutes before the forgotten party had finally caught up with us, panting and (except in Tails' case) a little pissed. But they soon shook it off and we walked in together.

That was how our Sonic Team was started.

Along with the misadventures that were lurking around the corner.


	3. Story 2: Sick Daze

One week. One week of this human school was all it took and I was on my knees.

Or in this case on my back.

"Tails, you okay, buddy?" Sonic asked as I lied in bed.

"N…not really," I somehow managed.

I felt his hand gently feel my head. "Man, that's some fever," he reported.

"Faker, what's the hold up?" Shadow asked from somewhere down the hall.

Sonic left my bedside and walked out to call back. Good, because I am really sensitive to loud noises right now. "Tails caught a cold," I heard my best friend say. "Someone needs to stay and watch him."

"You know we can't do that," Shadow responded.

"Well do you _see_ an adult here? Someone needs to watch him," he insisted.

"Fine, I'll call Lexi and see if she knows anyone who can stay here."

Sonic chuckled. "Good for you, Shads. You found a girlfriend to rely on."

Bad move.

I heard two pairs of footsteps run down the hall, one running away while the other chased. "I swear to God, Faker, I will skin you alive when I get the chance!" Shadow threatened.

I sighed. Back home, I had kind of wished that Shadow would move in with us for a few reasons: he would most likely open up more, he would have place to stay, and truthfully I looked up to him. He was sort of like a second brother, I guess.

I think I'm going to have second thoughts on that, though, if _this_ is how they act.

The noise had attracted Knuckles and Rouge to my predicament. "Sorry that you have to feel this way, Tails," Knuckles said.

I weakly shook my head, telling him there was nothing to worry about. Rouge was petting my head, and then stopped when the boys ran past the room again, still arguing. She was a little peeved, to say the least. She ran to the door. "Will you two calm down for _five_ seconds?!" she shouted. They stopped, and Rouge sighed. "Shadow would you just call already and Sonic, stop teasing him."

Shadow grumbled and Sonic shrugged. I didn't need to be there to know that. My blue hedgehog-now-human friend and the other two went off to finish getting ready while Shadow got his cell phone out and called Lexi. A few seconds of silence. "Good morning," Shadow told our human friend. "And what are you so pissy about..." Just in that moment there was the sound of jumping around, most likely Sonic trying to put on his clothes. Shadow grumbled. "Well, SORRY THAT WE HAVE A TODDLER IN THE HOUSE!" Obvious insult thrown at Sonic is obvious. "Look," Shadow continued, sighing, "I know it's 6:05 in the morning and I know you like to sleep past your alarm sometimes, but I need you to get me someone who can stay at our house for the day?" Silence, and then a chuckle. I don't know how that girl does it, but she makes Shadow laugh and smile, _frequently_. "No, Tails has a fever." Then he walked in and placed a hand gently on my head. "And a really bad one by the feel of it."

"How bad?" I faintly heard. I heard rustling on the other end. I figured she was getting out of bed.

"Like burn-your-hand-on-a-stove bad," the dark hedgehog replied. Was it really that bad?

Now the rustling was more intense, and I heard a door flying open and feet pounding on wooden floors. Another door flew open. "Mom, Mom, I need your help!" Lexi exclaimed. Luckily, thanks to the phone being closer to Shadow, I hadn't groaned with a headache.

Shadow's eyes widened. "You don't need to-"

"What is it, Lexi?" both of us heard Mrs. Rogers ask.

"It's T...Miles!" Another close call. Can't say I blame her. I tended to have the same problem. "He has a fever, and he needs someone to watch him!"

I heard the phone transfer. "Who is it I'm speaking to right now?" Mrs. Rogers asked.

"Sh-Shawn, ma'am," Shadow replied. I couldn't tell if he stuttered because he almost let it slip or if he was nervous because he didn't want to make Lexi's mom skip work. I banked on the latter.

"So I hear your friend is sick," the adult stated.

"Re-really, it's fine, Mrs. Rogers." Yep, Shadow's nervous. "We-we'll find someone else."

"Nonsense," Mrs. Rogers said. "I can miss one day of work just as you can miss one day of school. Thank you for the concern, though. I'll be over there as soon as I get ready."

"Thank you," Shadow said. And with that he hung up. He sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, watching over me. "I'm going to wait here until Lexi's mom arrives," he told me. There must have been a look of concern on my face, because he added, "Don't worry, I'll make it to school in time. Just because I can't hit the speed of sound in this world, doesn't mean I'm not fast." Of course I knew that, but why had I doubted it for a second? Ugh, stupid fever must have been messing with my brain.

There were running footsteps, and then a screeching halt. "Yo Shads, you ready?" Sonic asked.

"I've been ready for the past five minutes, waiting for you," Shadow told him, glaring. "But I'm going to wait here until Mrs. Rogers arrives and then I'll catch up with you three. And for the last time, my name's not 'Shads'!" I winced. Two pairs of eyes were on me, filled with concern. "Uh...sorry, Tails."

See why I think of Shadow as a second brother sometimes? The guy isn't always so distant.

"Make sure to get some rest, hun," Rouge stated as she and Knuckles reappeared. I nodded as best I could.

"I'll get everything you need, Tails," Knuckles promised. "Get better, okay?"

"Ditto," Sonic stated. "See you later." And with that they left. I heard them walk down the stairs and then out of the house.

A few moments later, Shadow stood up and left. He soon came back with a cold wet towel and placed it on my head. That definitely felt good. He sat back on my bed, and the two of us sat in silence, but it was a good silence. I at least could tell he cared, and that was good enough for me. Around 6:30 or so, there was a knock at the door. Shadow stood up again to go and get it, but not before going to his room to grab his backpack. He walked downstairs and opened the door. I heard the two talking but couldn't quite make out the words, and then I heard footsteps climb up and the front door closing. "Hello, Miles," a soft voice came.

"...Hi..." I weakly managed. Thanks to the towel I was a bit stronger than before, but that's like saying a snail moved a centimeter.

Mrs. Roger sat to the edge of the bed, removed the towel, and felt my head. "Hmm," was all she said. Guess she didn't need to state the obvious; besides, her thoughts were written all over her face. In a flash, Mrs. Roger was gone and back with a bucket as quick as she had left. I wondered why when suddenly I had strength to quickly sit up, but not for a good reason. All I could think was how amazing moms were at predicting these things before I threw up. It wasn't pretty. "Hold onto the bucket, Miles, I'm going to get you some water." She left again, and I wondered if I would even be able to keep the water down. Ugh, just thinking about losing what I just drank...yeah...just as I had that thought process, I did it again. She came back with a glass. "Just swish it around and spit it out," she instructed. "I doubt you'll be able to hold it."

Moms really do think of everything. Too bad I don't actually have one. But I remembered Mrs. Vanilla; she's kind of like a mom to everyone. I took the glass and did as instructed. "Thank you, Mrs. Rogers," I said hoarsely.

"Call me Nina," she replied. I smiled. Then she dug through her bag and pulled out medicine. I winced when I saw it was grape, but when she filled the cup and handed it to me, I took it anyway. Another sip of water and I spit out the taste into the bucket.

Until lunch, most of the day was quiet, the only things breaking the silence were the clicking of the keyboard (Nina had brought her computer to do some work) and my occasional dry heaving (I had run out of stomach content). Though, when noon rolled around, I had done it less, probably because the medicine was kicking in. Nina deemed me well enough to actually drink the water slowly and went downstairs to make soup. She came back a few minutes later, and I took slow bites, usually not taking another one for quite a while. When I finished, I felt even better than before. "Thank you for watching over me, Nina," I said. My voice was louder, but it was still quite.

"Of course, Miles," she stated with a smile. "Though, where are your parents? I would think they would want to look after their own child."

I thought about how to answer this. I mean, I couldn't tell her the truth. And what is the truth, you may ask? Well, we had actually arrived one week before school started, and we were lucky enough to find this house. It was up for sale, so Shadow, since he was technically 50 years old and could make himself sound like one in this world, had settled everything over the phone. I'm surprised the relators bought it. And I was even more surprised to find we had enough money to pay for it. The way this whole travel-to-another-world thing confuses even me in some areas. "Well, none of us have parents," I said, which is actually true. All of our parents (or, in Shadow's case, his creator and his best friend) died, except for Sonic's and Rouge's. We actually don't know what happened to them. "But we do have guardians, and they bought this house for all of us to stay in."

"Oh," Nina said sadly. "I'm sorry about your parents." I hadn't said they died. Was it written on my face? She looked sad and lost in memories as she continued with, "I know what it's like to lose someone you hold dear."

"To be honest," I replied, "I never met my parents. They died when I was really young, and then one day Sam found me." I still remember the day Sonic had come to Westside Island and began to take me on adventures. I smiled. "He's like an older brother, so I never feel sad about not having a real family."

"Does Lexi know that?"

"Since day one." Then I paused. "Why would Lexi care?"

"Can I trust you won't repeat this?" I nodded, confused. Then she told me a story, one that you'll probably hear another day, but it's not important now. My eyes widened as she told me.

I gulped. "That's...that's awful," was all I could manage. I remember one of Lexi's storm cloud of emotions being intensely strong many years ago.

I had found its source.

Just wish I hadn't done it on my own.

...

The clock turned to 2:40. School had gotten out five minutes ago, and everyone would be home soon. I felt even better now and could actually allow Nina to open up the blinds. I took a sip of water just as the front door opened. Pairs of footsteps hurried inside. I smiled. They had all been worrying about me and obviously couldn't wait a second longer judging by the scrambling. I heard them climb the stairs, but before they had reached the room, Nina stood up and exited. "Now I hope all five of you weren't going to just yell and jump all over him," she said, half joking.

Five? That meant Lexi was there, too. "Sorry," my friends mumbled.

"And Lexi, don't forget to finish your homework," her mom reminded.

I bet Lexi was extremely glad it had been a 1-3-5 day. She would have been screwed otherwise. Still, she groaned. Might have been louder if she had to bare Physics by herself. "Yes, Mom," she replied. Then my friends went back downstairs to get started on homework. Nina came back in, winked, and grabbed her bag. Her job was done, so she decided to take her leave.

Surprisingly, Lexi was the first one done. She came into my room with her laptop. "Why do you have your laptop?" I asked. "I'm pretty sure you didn't have time to go back home."

"We had to do that questionnaire thing in English today, remember?" Lexi stated. I had remembered something about that, and how Lexi said she was bring her laptop because the computers were, in her words, "so fire trucking slow that they made watching paint dry the fastest thing since Sonic".

Well, those weren't her exact words. She had used another "F" word, but I don't like swearing.

"Anyway," she continued, "I brought it up so we can chill and watch some videos while everyone else is still working. You feeling up to it?"

"What kind?" I answered.

There was a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Even if she hadn't told us, I would have guessed her to be a Shadow fan. She definitely possessed some of his traits. "Wanna see something embarrassing of your big bro?"

Alright, it's no secret I love Sonic. In a brotherly way. I look up to him a lot. But even still, I couldn't resist. "I want to see!" I exclaimed.

Lexi laughed. I pat the space on my right side, and she walked around the bed and climbed on in next to me, but not before kicking off her shoes. "Now, you probably don't remember this since it was technically erased from the timeline," she explained as she opened her laptop and typed in her password.

"Yeah, but it probably still happened," I stated. "Or maybe something else entirely."

"Oh I hope to God...Chaos...whatever, that it was something else entirely," she chuckled.

...What? "...What?"

"You'll see." She typed in something in the search bar on YouTube and began looking at the results. She had her headphones in and she was looking for something specific, but the frown on her face showed me she wasn't finding it. "Do you mind if there's commentary?" she asked.

"That's cool," I told her.

"Okay." She clicked on a video.

I looked at the owner of the video. "BrainScratchComms?" I read.

"Yeah, they're pretty cool in my opinion," Lexi stated. The video loaded, and she skipped through a bit of it. We were watching a cutscene. My friends and I, along with...Princess Elise? She doesn't know us. At least not personally. Anyway, we were standing, looking at Sonic's...

"Wait, Sonic _died_?" I asked.

"Yeah," Lexi said nonchalantly, shrugging. "It was kind of stupid. That's not the point, though, since he's about to come back to life."

I watched the screen. It was kind of hard to hear Elise since the commentators were drowning he out, but thankfully there were subtitles. Elise was praying to the Chaos Emeralds. Wait, since when could they bring people back to life? Then Sonic's body lifted into the air, and the human princess walked over to it. Now the commentators were freaking out as Elise leaned in and... "She...isn't going to-" I was cut off since my question was answered. I sat there, eyes wide. Lexi paused the video. "Oh...oh my...pfft..." I couldn't help laughing. Sonic, who never wanted to be tied down, who never wanted to be in a relationship, just got kissed. By a_ human_ no less.

"Something funny?" a dark voice asked. Lexi and I turned our heads to see Shadow leaning against my doorframe. Then we looked at each other. I could see it in her eyes; she was thinking the same thing as me.

This was going to be fun.

"Like you wouldn't believe," I told him. That got him curious, and he joined us on the bed, on my left.

"Show me," he said.

"Okay, first some background. Probably won't remember any of this since it was erased from the timeline," Lexi informed. The black hedgehog-human nodded slowly.

"And Sonic's dead so Elise is reviving him," I added. Shadow raised an eyebrow. Now he was even more curious.

Lexi went back a few seconds. She had decided to go to the point where Sonic's body levitated. Shadow watched, waiting for the kiss. And then, as soon as it happened, Lexi paused the video once more. Shadow's face was twitching, obviously trying to hold back laughter.

It obviously didn't work. And I will never forget what came next.

Shadow didn't just laugh.

He roared.

The guy was laughing so hard he fell off the bed, clutching his sides. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. It was probably one of the most amazing things I had ever seen. Of course, it caught everyone's attention, and soon the other three were in my room, watching Shadow with looks of confusion.

"Clearly, it must be the most amazing thing if Shadow's laughing," Rouge finally stated.

Said human was trying to catch his breath. "Video...hilarious...oh god..." And he laughed once more. The three looked at each other and then joined us. Shadow got back up so he could watch his rival get humiliated all over again. Of course, Lexi had to do a quick recap again.

"I...died..." Sonic repeated in a dry yet disbelieving tone.

"Yep. You were too distracted by shiny objects," Lexi told him.

"Oh, this just keeps getting better and better!" Shadow said happily.

"I thought that's how Rouge would go," Knuckles stated with a smirk on his face. Rouge was giving him a harsh glare.

Sonic looked displeased. "Can we just get on with it?" he asked, impatient as always.

"You sure, Faker?" Shadow told him.

"Yes, I'm sure, can we please go already!"

Lexi hit the play button once more. Man, you had to be there. Rouge was snickering while Knuckles and Shadow (once again) were on the floor. And I swear Sonic's eyes were the size of planets. "Lady and gentlemen, may I present to you the worst game in the Sonic franchise!" Lexi declared with a smile.

Sonic was speechless. "That...that has to be one of _the_ worst things-"

"Well, you ran around saving a princess for the entire story, were almost killed by Silver twice and were saved by Amy the first time and by Shadow the second," our real human friend explained. Sonic looked disgusted. I kind of was as well, though I couldn't say I didn't get any enjoyment out of it, even if it was kind of cruel.

Meanwhile, Shadow was having a riot. "Take that, Faker!" he exclaimed. You'd be surprised how often he acts like a child. I think Sonic has influenced him just a tad.

Lexi typed something else into the search bar. New videos came up. Something about Shadow roundhouse kicking Silver. We watched it, and I think Sonic was even more pissed than before. "Oh come ON!" he shouted.

"Who's awesome now?" his rival boasted.

Sonic glared at him. "Find...the computer room," he said in a threatening tone.

That got Shadow to stop. "...Shut up." I couldn't help but giggle.

After that, Lexi checked my forehead. "No fever now," she reported. "Still, I think it's best if you shower and then get some rest."

"But Lexi, I'm totally fine," I told her.

"Really?"

I was about to retort, but all that came out was a yawn I tried to quickly cover up. "No use, kid, I think Lexi's right," Rouge stated.

"I think it's time we left Tails alone," Lexi said. Knuckles and Rouge nodded, while the "brothers" were still glaring at each other. Still, they left when everyone else did.

I watched them go and waited a few minutes before getting out of bed. I did feel a bit woozy, so I guess Lexi was right. As I took my shower, though, and put on a fresh pair of pajamas, I couldn't help but smile. I climb into bed and closed my eyes. I heard someone walk in, close the blinds, and turn off my light. Before the person left completely, he whispered, "Get better, buddy," and closed the door.

I smiled. I guess it's good to be in a sick daze every once in a while.

It brings out the best in people.


End file.
